Olmert honors Herzl
Photo: GPO
A visionary. Herzl
Photo: Courtesy of JNF archive
Olmert: Herzl's vision was missing military aspect
Prime minister honors father of modern Zionism, says 'Jewish state founded on blood, sweat and tears'
"(Theodore Herzl) did not only envision, but also built a strong foundation and created tools to transform that vision into a political reality," said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday at a ceremony in Jerusalem marking the 147th birthday of the father of modern Zionism.
A few days after gathering to celebrate Independence Day, the nation's leaders met at Mount Herzl once more, to celebrate the man who founded the World Zionist Organization.
"The nation's visionary – this title is too modest to do justice to the man and his accomplishments," Olmert said of Herzl.
"Victor Hugo said once that the strongest force in the universe is an idea whose time has come. In this capacity, Herzl appeared dramatically as a lodestar of the Jewish people at the end of the 19th century," he said.
Ceremony at Mount Herzl (Photograph: Gil Yohanan)
"The idea of a Jewish state fell on fertile ground, and created the first buds of a Zionist identity among the early Jewish pioneers, from Jerusalem to Petach Tikva."
Herzl "spread the idea of Zionism like wildfire. The millions of downtrodden Jews in Europe…saw Herzl as a transformed man, a redeeming leader," said the prime minister.
Olmert also spoke of the leader of the revisionist movement Zeev Jabotinsky. "One aspect that was missing from Herzl's vision was the military aspect. Zionism was created as a unique national liberation movement, without a militant ethos. Trying to be born through peace.
"The violent Arab resistance to this idea forced the Jewish people to yield a defensive sword, for without it, Zionism would not have come to be. Jabotinsky understood this before his time…and for this he was blamed for militarism.
"The State of Israel was founded in a struggle of blood, sweat and tears. Zionism won," Olmert declared.
The Jewish people "fought and defended themselves from hostile surroundings, bought its liberty for a high and painful price and became once more a proud and strong sovereign nation."
